Date of Submission

8-10-2022

Document Type

DiP

Degree

Doctor of Education

Department

Education

Keywords

international pharmacy graduate, clinical assessment, mentorship, shared leadership, sense of community theory, critical race theory

Abstract

Because Canada espouses principles of diversity and multiculturalism, many international pharmacy graduates (IPGs) immigrate to Canada expecting to find employment using skills for which they trained in their home country. Upon arrival, they often face challenges in credential recognition and licensure. Barriers include systemic discrimination, socio-psychological isolation, the precipitous decline in social status, and financial challenges of navigating the steps that bridge the training received in their home countries to the scopes of practice in Canada. The problem of practice (PoP) explored in this organizational improvement plan (OIP) focuses on the lack of opportunity that IPGs have to access clinical workplace settings prior to being assessed for entry to practice competencies. Health Alliance is an organization that works in the regulatory space for internationally educated healthcare professionals, and that provides a service that facilitates the IPG path to licensure in Canada. This OIP proposes housing a mentorship program at Health Alliance, to specifically address the experiential learning, and knowledge and skill gaps that have been identified as barriers to success for international pharmacy graduates pursuing licensure, and ultimately, gainful employment as pharmacists in Canada. This OIP examines the PoP through the lenses of sense of community theory and critical race theory to explore how the lived experiences of diverse internationally educated skilled immigrants are impacted by the process of seeking credential recognition and licensure. Change at the leadership, cultural and operational levels will be facilitated through Kotter’s eight stage change model and will be evaluated using an empowerment evaluation approach.

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